But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. - 2 Corinthians. 10:13
The Creflo Dollar drama marches on. For those unaware, Mr. Dollar recently came out against tithing, correctly consigning it to the law, which he now actively preaches against because of his false beliefs in antinomianism. This old heresy claims the law can be ignored by Christians because of grace. Greasy grace as it is commonly known, I championed by Joseph Prince but Dollar became enamored with it several years ago. Now Prince carries on with abusive tithing teaching despite the conflict but Dollar felt he could not. The ironically stupid part is that Dollar still teaches seed theology and refuses to apologize for decades of tithing abuse. Nevertheless, the Charismaniacal world flipped out because they mostly rely upon tithing to support their mega-church lifestyles. We reviewed a piece recently by another false teacher, Jamie Morgan, upset with Dollar but this time we have different take that smears discernment ministers and anyone with the temerity to say boo to Creflo Dollar. The reasoning is absurdly unbiblical. Let us reason once more together through the above linked article found on Charisma News.
"Social media can be a real blessing and be used for good. But it can also be a curse and a cause for strife, offense and division and "every man doing what is right in their own eyes." As a glaring example, many people are correcting Creflo Dollar on his denouncement of tithing as only an Old Testament law and principle. Pastors seeking to protect their own turf, ministers seeking to protect their own projects funded by the tithes of their downlines of churches and sponsors, are offering their two cents worth. This sort of correction is mostly out of context." - Bert Farias
Years ago, Bert Farias used to write gospel-centric articles but now is reduced to this. He is right of course about social media but his application here is silly. The issue when it comes to correct doctrine is not the method of delivery but the accuracy of the content. So, I did not begrudge Jamie Morgan for criticizing the new teaching from Dollar. I begrudged the fact that it was inaccurate and unbiblical. What is disturbing here is Farias' opening point is not to take a stand one way or the other but to claim that correction on matters of doctrine can somehow be "out of context." As we watch his rationale develop, we will see that Farias wishes to take no position, for no apparent reason.
"Unfortunately, social media platforms can enable judgmental fault-finders who think they are the assigned watchmen for God. They believe they are the defenders of truth and righteousness, when in fact, they are sowing the wrong kind of seed. "We, on the other hand, will not boast beyond our proper limit, but [will keep] within the limits of our commission (territory, authority) which God has granted to us as a measure, which reaches and includes even you" (2 Cor. 10:13). Many on social media have carved out a ministry for themselves and garnered a great following, whose ears are tickled and self-righteous tendencies are gratified. Most of them are out of order and operating beyond the limits and boundaries that God has allotted them. Others are simply following the example and training they've received to be bold and defend the faith." - Bert Farias
Let us first deal with the misused scripture reference, which is also the key verse for today. Paul is speaking here about BOASTING, not discernment. Gill's Commentary thinks this is most likely a comparison to gnostic teaching that routinely boasted beyond common knowledge into areas they had no right to boast in. Matthew Poole's Commentary speaks about false teachers that had infiltrated the Corinthians Church and were boasting of their gifts and abilities. Either way, it has nothing to do with correctly discerning doctrine and providing truth over error as the bible commands us to do. The smear here against discernment ministries reveals that Farias would rather muddy the waters than deal with the truth. The verse about tickled ears is related to false teachers Bert, not proper discernment. Note that Farias does not offer that he thinks the discernment ministers are factually wrong, just that they have exceeded some nebulous sense of authority that does not come from the bible. So, since Bert seems to not understand let me clarify for him. The boundaries God has allotted anyone to speak the truth about is the entire bible and anyone who claims to teach from it but does so falsely. The issue Bert is protecting the flock, not your personal ideas about territoriality. The issue is not whether I am allowed to speak about a false teacher as egregious as Creflo Dollar. The man once preached that he wished he had a machine gun to kill all of the non-tithers in his church. That is what you are defending sir.
